What to Do if You Have an Emergency With Your Veneers

What to Do if You Have an Emergency With Your Veneers

If one’s teeth are darkening because of excessive drinking of coffee, tea, or colored sodas and eating dark foods like blueberries and tomatoes, they may not respond to whitening agents, but veneers can cover them.

They can hide chips or small cracks, cover gaps between teeth that that make a smile less than perfect, and change the appearance of misshapen teeth. However, while dental porcelain is hard, it can be damaged.

The American Dental Association says that Americans suffer form 15 million dental injuries a year. If you don’t wear a sports mouthguard during a game, a blow from a ball or an elbow could crack your veneers.

If you are in a car or bike accident, you could damage your veneers as well as your teeth. You might simply fall. You could even harm veneers just by chewing ice or opening bags with your teeth.

If the veneer comes off and still looks fine, do not be tempted to:

– Use any kind of whitening material to paint over a small crack or chip, since you will not be able to match the exact shade of the rest of the tooth.

On the other hand, a few things you need to Do in an emergency:

– If you can find the veneer and there is little visible damage, put it in a sandwich bag to bring in when you see your dentist.

– If your mouth is bleeding, wash it out with salt water and put an ice pack on the outside of your face in the area of the veneer that was damaged, alternating taking it off and putting it back on for 15 minutes for a couple of hours to prevent swelling.

– Until the veneer is treated, eat soft foods and avoid chewing in that area.

– If you are in pain, manage it with ibuprofen or aspirin and go to an urgent care center or emergency room.

– Call Wilshire Smile Studio at 323-336-8478 for an emergency appointment during office hours, Monday-Friday 8 AM – 6 PM

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